Mtis National Council rejects idea of new Ontario Mtis communities after 2nd identity forum

The Mtis National Council (MNC) has released a statement flat out rejecting "new Mtis" communities, particularly in Ontario.

Debate about membership and who is and who isn't Mtis has caused divisions among the various provincial Mtis organizations.

"You start looking at the Mtis Nation, and everybody's saying 'Wait a second, I'm mixed blood, and I want a piece of that.' So you're now finding people that are coming and trying to take a shortcut, through the back door of different organizations like the [Mtis Nation of Ontario (MNO)]," said Manitoba Mtis Federation President David Chartrand.

Chartrand, who is also the vice-president of the MNC, attended a virtual forum hosted by the organization this past weekend to discuss Mtis identity and those outside of the Mtis homeland who have mixed heritage.

According to the 2016 census, there are 120,585 self-identifying Mtis people in Ontario, a 40 per cent increase from 2011 and an increase of 64 per cent since 2006.

Chartrand is worried that many of the new people who claim to be Mtis in Ontario might have mixed First Nations and European ancestry, but don't necessarily have a connection to Mtis culture, history or the Mtis homeland.

He said the homeland of the Mtis extends to parts of northwestern Ontario, including the regions around Kenora and Fort Frances, but questioned the validity of communities in other parts of Ontario.

Chartrand said some communities recognized by the MNO like the Mattawa Mtis Council and the Barrie South-Simcoe Mtis Council have no connection to the Mtis Nation and don't have any Aboriginal rights under Section 35 of the Constitution granted to them through the courts.

He said many of these communities have no ancestral or cultural connection tofamilies from the Red River area and that they wouldn't pass the Powley test.

The Powley test, which stems from a 2003 Supreme Court of Canada decision,considers 10 criteria, including self-identification, ancestral connection and community acceptance, to determine whether someone is entitled to exercise Mtis rights.

"We cannot allow somebody that's part of our nation by name brand, to start opening the floodgates and bring the new Mtis people in," said Chartrand, who referred to the new communities as an "invasion."

According to Chartrand, the decision by the MNO to recognize such communitiescould have long-term negative effects for Mtis people as a whole.

"They're going to start bringing people in because they'll say, 'It's my province,'" said Chartrand.

"So then what's going to happen to our nation? There's going to be a court case, whether it's hunting or something . . . and they're going to lose . . . because they don't have no connection to us."

MNO should have opportunity to take part, says president

The Mtis Nation of Ontario was put on a one-year probation by the national councilin 2018, and was suspended in January 2020 over a perceived lack of adherence to the national council'sdefinition of citizenship, adopted in 2002.

According to the national council, "Mtis" means someone who has ancestors connected to the historic Mtis Nation who livedin the historic Mtis Nation homeland.

MNO PresidentMargaret Frohsaid this past weekend's forum on identity is the second forum held by the national councilmeant to undermine her organization, andthe MNO hasn't been able to address its point of view.

"The MNO should have had the opportunity to take part in any discussions or presentations about issues that directly spoke to the MNO and our recognized historic communities in Ontario," said Froh, who is originally from the Qu'Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan.

"One of the things that has been flagged and it's been thrown out there is this concern about floodgates and Mtis Nation of Ontario letting in hundreds of thousands, if not millions," said Froh.

"We have a current citizenship of just over 23,000 people. We have rigorous citizenship criteria. We actually do apply the national definition as adopted by the Mtis National Council."

While Chartrand worries that the number of people illegitimatelyself-identifying as Mtis will continue to increase, Froh has said she shares the same concerns and would like to address them with the national council directly.